A Minute Before Eagles Rise
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: To keep Desmond from worrying so much about an upcoming exam, Amber decides to show him a secret event that not many people know about. (PS-Thanks to you all and your reviews, I'm obliging a common request: there WILL be a follow up to "Mood Swings." ;) Thanks for the feedback!)


A Minute Before Eagles Rise

Summary: To keep Desmond from worrying so much about an upcoming exam, Amber decides to show him a secret event that not many people know about.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or eagles! :)

A/N: Yes, another Amber/Desmond friendship/bonding story. They're just so adorable. By the way, there's an "Easter Egg" of sorts hiding in the title. ;)

"Mm," a pathetic whimper came from Desmond as he lowered his head to his desk at Royal Prep. It was after school, but the boy was still there studying for an exam he and the rest of his class were going to have tomorrow. It was a big one: a test of knowledge on the historical aspects of various kingdoms in the surrounding area. In other words, he had a long night ahead of him.

"Desmond."

"Ahh!" Desmond jumped when he felt a hand clasp over his shoulder. He looked up with wide eyes. He calmed a little bit when he recognized his source of surprise. "Amber…"

The blonde princess grinned as she sat in the desk behind him. She laughed lightly when he turned around to face her. "A little jumpy, aren't we?"

"I'm sorry. I've been studying since school ended, and Ms. Flora said I'd be alone in the classroom. I wasn't expecting anyone."

"Oh." Amber shrugged as she moved to stand. "Well, if you wanted to be alone…"

"No, no! Y-You can stay." He laughed shyly as she smiled at him and regained her seat. "I just meant that I wasn't…uh…" He ran his hands through his strawberry blonde hair and released a sigh. "I'm nervous about this exam tomorrow."

The Enchancian princess just giggled. "Desmond, you're _always_ nervous about an exam. And you always do just fine. Would you relax for a change?"

"It's hard," he admitted with a defeated look. "I expect a lot of myself, and so does everyone around me."

Amber grasped his hands from his hair and gently patted them. "Desmond, I'm saying this as your friend." She squeezed his hands a little bit. "You're driving us crazy."

"Huh?"

"And if you keep worrying yourself into a stupor, we _will_ be forced to knock you out."

He blinked in confusion. "A-Amber…? And who's 'we?'"

She smirked. "Everyone around you, Desmond. Everyone sees you stressing out, and instead of calming down, you make yourself even _more_ upset. For goodness sake, calm down already!"

"I can't!" He reluctantly pulled his hands away from hers and folded his arms. "It's not as easy as you think."

Amber sighed. "Okay. I see we'll have to do this a different way." She stood and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward the door.

"Wait, my books!"

"They'll be here tomorrow."

Desmond knew not to ask any questions when Amber was so focused on a task at hand. He'd found that out the hard way a few days ago when she'd used him as a mannequin of sorts to sew some of the costumes for Miss Elodie's play. One wrong move and he'd be poked with that intimidating needle.

He didn't ask why they were so far from the campus. He didn't ask why they had climbed to a higher altitude—which obviously wreaked havoc with his acrophobia. Just because he'd sort of faced his fear of heights last year didn't mean it had gone away altogether. But when they'd settled onto a grassy hill that overlooked the school and several trees and fields of flowers, he finally had to ask her the nagging question.

"What are we doing here?"

Amber simply smiled at him and pointed up toward a tree, where a nest sat near the top. "Look there. A mother bird is in the nest with her babies. Every day around this time, she takes off to find food for them."

"Okay…" Desmond thought the scene was sweet, and the story was nice, but… "What does this have to do with my studying?"

"Don't you think it's neat?" She folded her arms across her lap and leaned forward. "Eagles are smart birds. They always know just what to do, even if they think they don't. But instincts always kick in…and they always excel in whatever task they're given." She glanced toward her friend and gave him an encouraging smile.

The prince blinked before smiling shyly. "I'm… I'm the eagle, right?"

"Hmm. Well, I suppose one day you'll be majestic enough to be an eagle. Right now you're more like a dodo bird." She laughed when he gasped in shock.

"Dodo bird?! They're _extinct_ , Amber! What are you saying?"

She grinned. "I'm just kidding. I guess you're more like a penguin."

He lifted an eyebrow at her. "So now I'm a flightless bird… Thanks, Amber." He smiled as she laughed a little more.

"Wait, shh." She stopped her laughter long enough to glance up toward the tree again. "It's about a minute until she'll head out. But the neat thing is, she won't go alone."

"What do you mean?"

She winked. "You'll see."

The seconds ticked by until finally, the eagle set off from her nest and was soon joined by a host of several other eagles nearby. They flooded the sky and flew off together.

"Wow," Desmond breathed, his eyes skimming the skies as the birds soared. "That's neat."

"Told ya." Amber grinned. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah…" He smiled thoughtfully at her. "You know, Amber…you're a good friend." He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

Amber actually blushed for a change before giggling and patting his hand with her free one. "Thanks, Desmond. You're a good friend too. And as your friend, I insist you go home now and rest. You'll do fine on the exam tomorrow." She stood and pulled him to his feet.

"But what about the babies?" he asked curiously. "Will they be all right?"

"Of course. They know their mother will return, just like she always does. Now let's go. It's getting late, and I left James sitting in the flying coach."

Desmond's eyes widened. "He's been there the whole time?"

She shrugged. "He needed someone to practice his new card trick on, so he's playing with the driver. I'm sure he's being entertained."

"I'm sure." He smiled. "Thanks again, Amber. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Amber laughed and tugged him along. "Well, you won't have to find out. You're stuck with me." She flashed him a smile, earning a shy but sincere one in return.

The end


End file.
